I have to say that your new CD, Kundalini Rising, with Liv Singh is OUTSTANDING!!! It is a breath of fresh air. My classes love it and want more! The variety of mantras that aren't recorded much, coupled with the creative arrangements in genres we don't hear in KY music are an absolute treat for the mind, soul, and ears! Ranging from jazz to bhangra, klezmer and more... the CD is one surprise after another. The arranging is superb! Thank you so much!!! Waheguru!

Har

Reviewer: S.S.

Love, Love. Love the Kundalini Rising CD. It is nice to have an alternative to Tantric Har.

Kundalini Rising at its best

Reviewer: Sopurkha Ottawa Canada

It is true, that "This is the kind of music you can use to affirm your identity as a timeless, deathless being in all activities of your life, not just when your sitting down to meditate." The rhythm, the instruments, the chanting, the voice, and the mantras all contribute to allow a state of being that is exhilarating, refreshing, and free at the same time.
Love, love, love listening to this music. Thank you.

"This is one of the best, most creative CDs of sacred music I've heard in a long time. Thank you DSK for always singing outside the box!" - N.K. "Love, love, love the new cd"! - K.N. "Yay love your sound, it is wonderful to listen to...great voice!" - V.R.

Kundalini Rising can create a space to affirm your identity as a timeless, deathless being in all activities of your life. This creative, magical music journey is enjoyable for working, driving, dancing and in your personal meditation practice as well as yoga classes. On this album, Chant touches many dance styles including Trance, Bhangra, and even Klezmer and Swing. Always musically interesting and engaging while feeding the spirit with Kundalini Rising healing mantra.

This album is the brain child of Liv Singh, composer and creative producer, with me, Dev Suroop Kaur, joining in to add the mantras and vocal elements. Chant in these songs touches many dance styles including Trance, Bhangra, and even Klezmer and Swing. We took our collaborative approach in new directions using vocal percussion, whispering, speaking and sliding the voice, in addition to healing chanting throughout. Our goal was to create expressive music you can use to affirm your identity as a timeless, deathless being in the many activities of your life; working, driving, relaxing and meditating.

1. Rising into Destiny – Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung. Techno Trance music has a sound that can be effectively integrated with chant music, but Liv Singh thought that often it’s lacking in a human connection to the listener. So we decided to add this needed human touch, with vocalizations by Dev Suroop Kaur, real drums by Ken Mary and recorder by Yonatan Miller. Most techno music has pretty static “4 on the floor” percussion and repeating hooks, but here we feature a non-techno intro with a bit of a Spaghetti Western flavor, which slowly morphs into the actual techno style. It builds through many twists and turns while keeping the chants as the theme. This opening piece includes the healing mantra – Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung. This mantra is an attunement of the self to the universe, and brings balance. It combines Earth (raa maa daa) and Ether (saa say so hung), with Saa as the link word. This mantra is used to heal the self and others.

2. God and Me - Humee Hum Too(n)hee Too(n) Wahe Guru For yoga classes, we use this song to get students up, moving around and relaxed. When recording the piece, we played around with whispering, various vocal percussions, and different sorts of vocalizations. The song came out of an improvisation Liv Singh did of the bass line and piano hook, which reminded him of music by Mancini from the movie The Pink Panther. As the rough piece evolved Liv Singh was concerned that Dev Suroop Kaur would think it was corny and very un-chant like. During the first session as soon as Dev Suroop heard the piece she smiled and said, “This is cool,” and immediately sang an inspired improv which had the basic vocal melodies and mantras used for the final song. Two different mantras are used: Humee Hum Too(n)hee Too(n) Wahe Guru and God and Me, Me and God Are One. With the mantra Humee Hum Too(n)hee Too(n) Wahe Guru, we communicate directly to the infinity of the self through the sound current of the word, and declare the reality that within each of us is the totality of Creation. God and Me, Me and God Are One is an affirmation given by Yogi Bhajan. Its purpose is to remember that God is within every one of us, and that to connect to the Divine you need only to look within.

3. Celestial Sat Narayan - Sat Narayan Wahe Guru Hari Narayan Sat Nam & Wahe Guru When we commissioned Hector Jara Cabo to create the album cover artwork, and this is the song that he said he played over and over again while painting his impressive work. This mantra, Sat Narayan Wahe Guru Hari Narayan Sat Nam, has the quality of restoring you to your innocence and washing away the false sense that what you have done in the past is irredeemable. Narayan is the aspect of Infinity that relates to water, and Hari Narayan is Creative sustenance. Chanting this mantra creates an experience of being intuitively clear or pure in your consciousness. Sat Narayan is the True Sustainer, Wahe Guru is the indescribable Wisdom, and Sat Naam means True Identity. This mantra gives inner peace, happiness, and good fortune.

4. When Darkness Collides with Light - Ardaas bhaee, amar daas guroo, Amar daas guroo ardaas bhaee. Raam daas guroo, raam daas guroo, Raam daas guroo, sachee sahee A very unusual mix of Hip Hop and Cajun which Liv Singh said was written to create the feeling of the battle that goes on between the forces of dark and light while the yogi stays centered using the powers of internal prayer and chant. During a session, Liv Singh explained the arrangement and concept of the piece to Yonatan Miller. Yonatan said, “I hear a Cajun violin part that will work” and amazingly in only one take for each part, he created the 2-part violin juxtaposition to the bluesy hip-hop feel. We use the mantra Ardaas Bhaee which is very fitting for the title of the piece. With this mantra, we transcend the grip of our own darkness so that we are able to move to a place a light and sustain ourselves in our own greatness. Ardaas bhaee, amar daas guroo, Amar daas guroo ardaas bhaee. Raam daas guroo, raam daas guroo, Raam daas guroo, sachee sahee. This mantra assures that all needs are provided for and guarantees that the true prayers deepest to your heart are already answered.

5. Klezmer Yoga Guru Ram Das - Guru Guru Wahe Guru Guru Ram Das Guru Liv Singh assisted Israeli composer and violinist Yonatan Miller in mixing and arranging his CD “Jewish Soul,” based on Eastern European Jewish Folk Songs from the 19th Century known as Klezmer, mixed with other eclectic styles. While doing the mixing for that album Liv came up with a wild idea to combine Klezmer with mantra. We took Yonatan’s arrangements and re-recorded them basing them on the cycles of the chant, using the mantra Guru Guru Wahe Guru Guru Ram Das Guru. This mantra means ‘Wise, wise is the one who serves Infinity’. This is a mantra of humility, relaxation, self-healing, and emotional relief. It calls on the spirit of humility and grace of the realm of Guru Ram Das, with its spiritual guiding light and protective grace. It reconnects the experience of Infinity to the finite, and therefore rescues you in the midst of trial and danger. Siri Singh Sahib ji: “Chant Guru Guru Wahe Guru to directly connect with the protective and healing energy of Guru Ram Das. There are mantras and mantras and mantras, but only this one is called the ’Guru Mantra’”.

6. I Am This music was inspired by swing music from the 1940’s, which Liv Singh’s parents danced to and which gave them great joy. The basic bass line was written and then Liv asked Mark DeCozio to come up with some 1940’s sounding instrumentation. To everyone’s surprise he played the staccato string and horn parts, which brought the whole piece together. Then Dev Suroop took the challenge to write the vocal melody that miraculously fit the rather long prayer without editing. In this piece, we used two sections of Japji, the first pauri (verse) – Sochai Soch Na Hovaee, and the slok – Pavan Guru Pani Pita. We also worked in the mantra ‘I Am’ with a little whistling and humming thrown in for good measure. I Am I Am is a mantra that connects the finite and Infinite identities. The first ‘I Am’ is the personal and finite sense of self. The second ‘I Am’ is the impersonal and transcendent sense of the Self. The first Pauri of Japji is said to be an antidote to depression, insecurity, nightmares, and loss: Sochai soch na hovaee, Jay sochee lakh vaar, Chupai chup na hovaee, Jay laae rahaa liv taar, Bhukhiaa bhukh na utaree, Jay banna pureeaa bhaar, Sahas siaanpaa lakh hoeh, Ta ik na chalai naal, Kiv sachiaaraa hoeeai, Kiv koorhai tutai paal, Hukam rajaaee chalnaa, Naanak likhiaa naal. The slok of Japji, Pavan Guru Panee Pita, is said to bring self-satisfaction, elevation, acknowledgement, and respect: Pavan guroo paanee pitaa, maataa dharat mahat, Divas raat doeh daaee daayaa, khaylai sagal jagat, changyaaeeaa buryaaeeaa vaachai dharam hadoor, karmee aapo aapnee kay nayrhai kay door. Jinee naam dhiaayaa, gay masakat ghaal, Naanak tay mukh ujalay, kaytee chutee naal.

7. Klezmer Yoga Ra Ra Ma Ma - Ra Ra Ra Ra Ma Ma Ma Ma, Rama Rama Rama Rama, Sa Ta Na Ma Another song with traditional Klezmer music interpreted by Yonatan Miller and merging with mantra. In this piece, we use a mantra commonly chanted in the early days of 3HO, ‘Ra Ra Ra Ra Ma Ma Ma Ma, Rama Rama Rama Rama, Sa Ta Na Ma’. The breakdown of the mantra is as follows: Raa is the sun, the masculine power. Maa is the moon, the female power. Rama is one of the names of God. Sa Ta Na Ma is considered the Panj Shabd. Saa is infinity, Taa is life, Naa is death or transition. Maa is rebirth. The sound ‘aaa’ is common throughout and is considered the sound that first differentiated the universe – the original ‘word’. Panj means five. This mantra describes the continuous cycle of life and creation.

8. Dhan Dhan This song was actually started years ago by Dev Suroop Kaur and Liv Singh for the album Kundalini Beat, but was left off as it did not have a hip hop feel. So for this album, the Dhan Dhan and Bolay So Nihaal sections were lifted from the earlier unreleased work, changed up a bit with horns, and then parts around it added. Mark DeCozio had everything to do with writing and creating the jazzy chords, bass and lead lines all played on keyboards. Yanaton is jamming on violin, Ken Mary is on drums and Dev Suroop Kaur composed and sings the accompanying vocal parts. This piece starts with a repetition of Toohee which means ‘Thine’. In Kundalini Yoga, when we chant the word Toohee, we confirm to the Creator that I am Yours, I belong to Creation, and it is all You. The piece then flows into the Dhan Dhan section, a celebration of and blessing to all of the Sikh Gurus, including the eleventh – the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scriptures of the Sikhs. This section ends with Bolay So Nihaal, Sat Siree Akaal which means, “Whoever utters, shall be fulfilled, the great Truth is undying”. Finally, we chant a line from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, Dhoor Prabh Tayray Pag Kee Dhoor. This line means “Oh God, I am the dust of Your feet”.

9. Sat Nam Bhangra This is the first piece we created for this album. Liv Singh wanted to feature the very popular traditional Sikh and Bollywood drum style Bhangra without the normal cut and paste type instrumentation. So Liv Singh created the basic drum parts and then brought in keyboardist Mark DeCozio who came up with the funky jazzy instrumentation, which could be played live with a real band unlike most Bhangra. Dev Suroop was up to the task of composing the fun vocal arrangements from her home studio that were later recorded at Invincible. We use the mantra Sat Nam – which affirms that, in the deepest, truest part of our being, Truth resides. By chanting Sat Nam, we are reminded of that purest Truth. We also use the mantra Jap Tap Sanjam – one Dev Suroop Kaur’s favorite concepts in spirituality. As we repeat and recite mantra: Jap, we create psychic heat: Tap. When we do this long enough, the result is Sanjam: patient endurance and the self-command to be able to direct ourselves in the ways that serve us, rather than being pulled in directions that are less fruitful. Added in the mix is the mantra Wahe Guru (noted in Sat Narayan Wahe Guru above).

10. Kundalini Rising - Har With Kundalini Rising, we wanted to create a joyous musical journey with the mantra Har continuing all the way to the slow building climax at the end of the piece. Simply chanting Har can have profound effects on the mind and spirit. Har is known as Creative Infinity. As the Siri Singh Sahib ji said, “Har is not some God or non-God. It is a sound to lose the ego and gain the Goddess. Har means ‘I lost’ because when you chant Har you lose your ego. Har also means ‘I gained’ in the sense that ‘I gained my superior powerful self.”

Dev Suroop Kaur delights in sharing the pure practicality of nurturing a successful and deeply authentic life. An accomplished musician, recording artist, and Lead Trainer in the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) Aquarian Trainer Academy, Dev Suroop Kaur strives to break it down, keep it real, and guide students to their own empowered authenticity. Or put another way, “An electric fusion of cosmic insight and earthmother humility. Directly wired into the deepest currents of musical soulfulness and yet can’t stop giggling about the wonder of it all.”

Liv Singh was born in Osseo, Minnesota. His first music teacher was his grandfather who taught him trumpet when he was 13 years old which he played in bands and orchestra in years to come. When Liv heard the band the Who he knew he had to play guitar which is now his favorite instrument.

Liv began practicing meditation in 1972 and at the same time started the record label Invincible Recording which has become one of the oldest and most successful "Healing World Music and Chant" record labels in the world. Liv is also Billboard Reviewed and Top 10 Charting, Grammy Nominated, 2 time NAMA Award Winner, Keyboard Magazine Album of the Year Winner producer & engineer for his collaboration with artists on the Invincible Recording label. Collaborations include: Wiz Khalifa, Bruce Walker (Dream Works Records), Bizzy Bone, Chris Ray, DMX (After Platinum Records), Singh Kaur, Snatam Kaur, Dev Suroop Kaur, Ken Mary with Alice Cooper and House of Lords (EMI), Michael Dunlap with the Commodores, Zakir Hussan of the Maha Vishnu Orchestra, Jim Scott with Paul Winter Consort, Antion Vikram with Eric Burdon & the Animals, Ron Feurer with Diana Ross and the Fifth Dimension, Steve Kujala with Chick Corea, Jordan Rudess with Dixie Dregs and Dream Theatre to name a few.